By Neia Balao
2:35pm PST, Feb 11, 2024
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Join us as we look back at the celebs who've dated professional football players over the years…
Model and reality star Olivia Culpo started seeing NFL running back Christian McCaffrey in early 2019. They announced their engagement several years later in April 2023. But he's not the first (or even the second) NFL player Olivia has romanced over the years…
Keep reading for more celebs who've linked up with NFL stars…
MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more fun celebrity & entertainment photo galleries and content
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Former beauty queen Olivia Culpo started dating NFL wide receiver Danny Amendola in early 2016, not long after she split from a different NFL player: Tim Tebow. Olivia and Danny had quite the off-and-on romance: They broke up and reconciled a number of times before calling it quits for good in April 2019.
MORE: Actors who've played football players
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NFL star Braxton Berrios and TikTok personality Alix Earle made their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2023 ESPY Awards — mere weeks after the Miami Dolphins wide receiver publicly denied rumors that they got together while he was still in a relationship with another celebrity: reality star Sophia Culpo, his former girlfriend of two years. (She's also beauty queen Olivia Culpo's sister.)
In October 2023, Braxton and Alix took another big step in their romance when they made things Instagram official: Alix posted a photo of herself kissing the athlete as he held her up while she wrapped her legs around him. She used the pic to mark the football star's 28th birthday, captioning it "hbd nfl man," to which Braxton replied, "Big fan of this."
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On Sept. 19, 2023, People magazine confirmed a Deux Moi report from earlier in the month that Kim Kardashian was quietly dating Odell Beckham Jr. According to a source, the reality star and the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver were "hanging out" in the wake of his breakup from his former long-term partner of about four years, model Lauren Wood.
An Us Weekly source later said that the Skims mogul and the professional football player have "great chemistry." The insider added that "their connection was mutual and grew flirtatious pretty quickly."
"They're dating, but things are still fairly casual. … There's nothing official so they're both allowed to date other people. Although they're not committed, Kim usually dates one guy at a time, so she's not seeing anybody else," the source said, noting that Kim and OBJ have "known each other for a while" and that the NFL star has "spent time with most of the Kardashian family over the years" at various Hollywood parties and events.
"Kim's family fully approves," the Us Weekly insider added.
In February 2024, People magazine reported that, according to a source, the mother of four and the professional athlete are "still hanging out, but it's pretty casual." Said the source, "Neither of them are in any big hurry to jump into something serious."
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Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen and then-New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady started seeing each other in 2006 and tied the knot in 2009 before welcoming two kids together.
In 2020, he opened up to radio host Howard Stern about problems in their marriage, explaining, "There was a couple years ago, she didn't feel like I was doing my part for the family. She felt like I would play football all season, and she would take care of the house. And then all of the sudden, a season would end, and I'd be like, 'Great, let me get into all my other business activities. Let me get into my football training.' And she's sitting there going, 'Well, when are you going to do things for the house? When are you going to take kids to school and do that?' That was a big part of our marriage that I had to check myself. Because she's like, 'I have goals and dreams too…" Tom further admitted, "She wasn't satisfied with our marriage. So I needed to make a change in that."
He did at the time, but then in 2022, new reports of marriage problems emerged claiming Gisele was unhappy that barely a month after Tom retired from the NFL, he announced he'd changed his mind and was returning to play another season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In October 2022, they announced their divorce. (Tom officially retired a few months later in early 2023.)
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Almost 10 months after Tom Brady finalized his divorce from supermodel Gisele Bundchen, the NFL GOAT moved on with a different model: Irina Shayk.
TMZ reported that the retired NFL star and the Russian model met in May 2023 at a billionaire pal's wedding in Sardinia. Their new romance was revealed a few months later in July 2023 when Tom was photographed picking up Irina from her hotel and bringing her to his Los Angeles home, where they spent the weekend together. As of early 2024, they're still casually seeing each other. (According to reports, their relationship is not exclusive.)
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Miss Universe 2017, South African beauty Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, married Tim Tebow — a Heisman Trophy winner who went on to play quarterback for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets — in 2020 following a year-long engagement.
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NFL star Travis Kelce turned a "Cruel Summer" into a big win: He scored a relationship with Taylor Swift. So how did it all start for Taylor and Travis?
On July 26, 2023, Travis lamented on the "New Heights" podcast that he hosts with brother Jason Kelce, a center for the Philadelphia Eagles, that he'd tried and failed to give Taylor a homemade friendship bracelet with his number on it when he caught a performance of her "The Eras Tour" show at his team's stadium earlier that month.
"I was disappointed that she doesn't talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings," Travis said, adding, "So, I was a little b***-hurt that I didn't get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her." When Jason asked his brother if he meant his jersey number or his phone number, Travis responded, "You know which one."
According to Taylor, that playful comment set things in motion. In Time magazine's 2023 Person of the Year cover story, which hit the internet on Dec. 6, she confirmed, "This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell. We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I'm grateful for, because we got to get to know each other. By the time I went to that first game [in September], we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date."
She made it clear that once people knew they were dating, they had nothing to hide. "When you say a relationship is public, that means I'm going to see him do what he loves, we're showing up for each other, other people are there and we don't care," she told Time a few weeks after Travis traveled to Argentina to cheer her on during the South America leg of her "The Eras Tour." "The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you're seeing someone. And we're just proud of each other."
Keep reading to see her at football games with Travis's mom (and dad!) and holding hands with Travis and much more…
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Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift made their public debut as a couple when they stepped out holding hands on their way to dinner in New York City on Oct. 14, 2023, then kept up the PDA all night long at a "Saturday Night Live" taping and afterparty (pictured here — plus more on that coming up!). A week later, they shared more PDA after the tight end's game in Kansas City. (More on that coming up too!)
"I think they are two very, very driven professional individuals," Travis's father, Ed Kelce, told "Entertainment Tonight" on Oct. 25, 2023, of what fuels Taylor and Travis's mutual respect for one another and makes them "a wonderful couple." Ed added, "I think they're very supportive of each other, which is key. This is a rough time for either one of them to have a relationship. She's in the middle of this ginormous tour, he's knee deep [in the NFL season]. At least he takes his just as serious as she takes hers as far as commitment to their craft."
Travis later gushed about Taylor himself in a WSJ. Magazine cover story that hit the internet on Nov. 20, 2023, "I've never been a man of words. Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been f****** mind-blowing. I'm learning every day." He made it clear he's in it to win it. "Obviously I've never dated anyone with that kind of aura about them… I've never dealt with it," he said. "But at the same time, I'm not running away from any of it… The scrutiny she gets, how much she has a magnifying glass on her, every single day, paparazzi outside her house, outside every restaurant she goes to, after every flight she gets off, and she's just living, enjoying life. When she acts like that I better not be the one acting all strange."
Keep reading to see Taylor at his games and more as their early days of their romance played out in the fall of 2023…
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Speculation that Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift might be dating made headlines in early September 2023 when The Messenger reported the pair had been quietly hanging out. Travis soon dropped a major hint that the rumors were true: During a Sept. 21, 2023, appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," he admitted he told her of the Chiefs' home field, "I told her 'I've seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead [Stadium on tour], you might have to come see me rock a stage at Arrowhead and we can see which ones a little more lit.' … We'll see what happens in the near future."
Well, Taylor showed up — again and again and again!
On Sept. 24, 2023, Taylor sat with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end's mother, Donna Kelce — a source later told TMZ that Donna liked the singer, whom she called "a lovely person" — in a box where they cheered him on as he scored a touchdown.
Afterward, Taylor and Travis left the stadium together, driving off in his 1970 Chevelle 408 Stroker convertible — their very own getaway car — before joining family, friends and teammates at a restaurant he rented out following the Chiefs' win that night. There, according to TMZ, they held hands and she sat on his lap at one point. TMZ posted a photo of the pair showing some PDA inside the bash.
On the Sept. 27 episode of Travis's "New Heights" podcast with brother Jason Kelce, he gushed, "I'm enjoying life and I sure as hell enjoyed this weekend," adding, "Shout out to Taylor for pulling up. That was pretty [bold]." Travis was thrilled, noting that "everybody in the suite had nothing but great things to say about her — the friends and family. She looked amazing and everybody was talking about her in great light."
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Taylor Swift attended Travis Kelce's game against the New York Jets on Oct. 1, 2023 (and brought a slew of celebrity friends including Ryan Reynolds and Sophie Turner along to watch — see them all here), though she and Travis left the stadium separately. The evening before, she enjoyed a ladies' night dinner with pals including new friend Brittany Mahomes, who's married to Chiefs quarterback (and Travis bestie) Patrick Mahomes.
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On Oct. 12, 2023, Taylor Swift was photographed chatting with Travis Kelce's mom, Donna Kelce, in a box during the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Denver Broncos in Missouri, marking her third time at one of his games.
Later in the game, she was also seen animatedly talking to Travis's father, Ed Kelce, and celebrating Travis's great plays with Brittany Mahomes, who's married to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
A few weeks later, Ed spoke to People magazine about Taylor, whom he called "very genuine" and "a very, very sweet, very charming, down-to-earth young woman" who's also "very smart" — "That comes through right away," he said.
Ed shared this story about the music superstar who's dating his younger son: "I'll tell you something very special that I noticed about Taylor the first time I met her," Ed told People. "We're sitting in the [stadium] suite, she gets up and in the front room, she gets up to go get a drink or something and she starts picking up empty bottles, cans, plates that are scattered around. Because in the suites everybody gets stuff and you empty it down wherever you can. And I'm just thinking, I don't think she got the diva memo. She didn't get the spoiled musician. She doesn't know how to pull that off. And that really to me said a whole lot."
Ed also told People that he went "back and listened to interviews she's done over the years" to learn more about her "because it gives you a sense of what a person is like," he said, specifically noting he enjoyed the 2022 commencement address she gave at NYU's graduation. "I thought that was pretty cool," Ed said, sharing that watching Taylor's interviews "just confirms my initial impression of her." Added Papa Kelce: "She's America's girl."
After the Oct. 12 game, Taylor stayed over at Travis's place in Kansas City for a few days before they jetted off to New York City, where they made their romance official and both made unannounced appearances on "Saturday Night Live"…
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Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift made it clear to the world that they were dating and 100% official when they held hands as they stepped out for dinner at Nobu in New York City on Oct. 14, 2023, then went to a taping of "Saturday Night Live" — where Travis appeared in a sketch about the NFL's obsession with his pop star romance and Taylor introduced Ice Spice's second performance — before hitting the "SNL" afterparty hand-in-hand (pictured) in the early morning hours of Oct. 15.
Inside the party at Catch Steak in NYC, the couple were "holding each other, and talking and kissing, in the main spot where the waiters and people had to walk by," an insider told Page Six, adding that "they didn't care or move" because they were "in their own world."
"Taylor comes over to Travis and put her hands on his shoulders, and he put his hands on her waist, and they were kissing, then talking, then kissing again and then talking about what food they wanted to order," the Page Six source said
The pair went out the next night too — see a PDA-filled photo next…
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Back at it!
One night after publicly launching their romance, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce held hands as they left dinner at Waverly Inn in New York City on Oct. 15, 2023.
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Taylor Swift went to her fourth Kansas City Chiefs game on Oct. 22, 2023, where she cheered on Travis Kelce alongside Brittany Mahomes. (The singer is seen here celebrating with Brittany, who's married to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, after Travis scored a touchdown during the second quarter of the Chiefs' game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Kansas City, Missouri.)
Afterward, she and Travis were seen holding hands as they left Arrowhead Stadium (see the pic here), and Taylor was filmed with her arm around the tight end as they were driven to his Rolls-Royce in a golf cart (see an image here). After Travis opened her door for her, his friend drove them back to his home where they celebrated the Chiefs' win at a house party catered by a barbecue truck.
Weeks later on Nov. 11, Travis was seen in the VIP tent with Taylor's father, Scott Swift, watching her perform her "The Eras Tour" show in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she not only changed the lyrics to one of her hits, singing, "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs / Coming straight home to me," but also ran into Travis's arms and kissed him in front of tens of thousands of people.
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Before she met (and married) professional hockey player Mike Fisher, country music superstar Carrie Underwood dated Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo from 2006 to 2007. In 2009, Carrie denied that Tony inspired her song "Cowboy Casanova," telling Esquire, "I would never immortalize a guy that did me wrong. I would never give him that much credit." According to Carrie, "Point blank, [Tony] is about football. I don't know if it's that I'm not quite his type or whatever, but I don't think he's at the point in his life where he would be willing to sacrifice football. He hated so much that people thought that he was paying more attention to me and that was causing him to not do well." Tony romanced another Hollywood blonde before eventually marrying another famous beauty…
MORE: All the times Carrie Underwood's legs have left us totally floored
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After he split from Carrie Underwood, Tony Romo dated a different music star: Jessica Simpson. They were an item from 2007 to 2009, when he famously broke up with her via email the night before her 29th birthday. In her memoir, "Open Book," the Texas native wrote that the Dallas Cowboys quarterback "accused me of seeing John [Mayer] behind his back" after learning she'd run into her Grammy-winning ex. "I hadn't cheated on Tony at all, but I could not lie and say I hadn't even seen [John]," Jessica recalled. "Tony didn't believe that for a second. And within that second, he broke up with me right there. Two years, gone with an email. Tony soon realized I was telling the truth. Of course I didn't cheat on him. But our breakup had been so ugly that it shocked me into realizing it had been necessary."
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Jessica Simpson quickly moved on with another football player: She started dating former NFL tight end Eric Johnson after they met in May 2010. They tied the knot in 2014 and went on to welcome three kids together.
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Miss Missouri USA 2008 Candice Crawford — a former journalist for a Dallas TV station and the sister of "Gossip Girl" and "The Boys" actor Chase Crawford — started dating Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo the summer he broke up with Jessica Simpson. They married in 2011 and now have three sons together.
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"The Bachelor" season 34 winner Hannah Ann Sluss was briefly engaged to lead Peter Weber. Now she's planning to marry NFL running back Jake Funk, who proposed in January 2023, less than a year after they went public with their romance while celebrating his Super Bowl win as a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
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On a January 2023 episode of her "Back to the Beach" podcast, "The Hills" alum Kristin Cavallari opened up about her high school romance with quarterback Matt Leinart, who won the Heisman Trophy while playing for the University of Southern California in 2004. He went on to play in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals, the Houston Texans and the Oakland Raiders. "I'm actually still good friends with Matt. Matt is the nicest human being on the planet. He's such a great guy," Kristin told co-host Stephen Colletti. "I dated him when I was 18, my second half of my senior year. He was a five-year senior at USC. He was on top of the world that year. I was so excited about it, clearly, like no chill whatsoever, but it was a big deal for me." She and Stephen later jokingly referred to Matt as Kristin's "first quarterback." Keep reading for more on the QB she eventually married…
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"Laguna Beach" and "The Hills" alum Kristin Cavallari married Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler in 2013. The duo — who co-starred on three seasons of the 2018 E! reality show "Very Cavallari" — welcomed three kids together before calling it quits in 2020.
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Before her high-profile relationships with Kanye West and Pete Davidson, Kim Kardashian primarily dated athletes. She was famously married to NBA player Kris Humphries for 72 days in 2011, but before that, the reality star romanced New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush (seen here) from 2007 to 2009. She then went on to date another NFL player…
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In 2010, Kim Kardashian dated Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin, but their long-distance relationship came to an end after just three months.
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Bravo star Kim Zolciak spotted Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker Kroy Biermann at a dancing-themed charity event that was filmed for season 3 of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" in 2010. "I've never in my life seen an a** like that," she told him when they met, adding, "I just had to tell you." The following year, the pair welcomed the first of four children together and tied the knot. (Kroy later adopted Kim's two older daughters from previous relationships.) The duo — who starred on their own reality show, "Don't Be Tardy," from 2012 to 2020 — stunned fans when they unexpectedly filed for divorce in mid-2023.
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Before she dated "Spider-Man" franchise co-star Tom Holland, Zendaya was briefly linked to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. After they were photographed together at a red carpet event in 2016 — Zendaya's dad, stylist and others were with them — her father quipped to TMZ that the NFL star was on an "audition" to date the actress. She later told 92.3 Amp radio's DJ Toro, "It wasn't really a date. We went to some events together because we're friends. We were with a group. [But] even if it does progress, you gotta go through my dad first. Just because you're in the NFL, you killin' stuff, that doesn't mean you get to skip past pops. He's not going to allow that to happen."
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Ciara and NFL quarterback Russell Wilson started dating in 2015 when he was playing for the Seattle Seahawks. They tied the knot a year later and have since welcomed three kids together.
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Olivia Munn dated Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for three years before they called it quits in April 2017. Aaron went on to romance another actress…
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After a two-year romance with retired race car driver Danica Patrick, NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers romanced actress Shailene Woodley for nearly two years. The couple got engaged after just a few months of dating and split in February 2022. They briefly rekindled their romance that spring, but ultimately, it wasn't meant to be.
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"Coyote Ugly" and "Sex and the City" actress Bridget Moynahan dated New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for nearly three years. Weeks after they broke up in late 2006, the "Blue Bloods" star learned she was pregnant. By the time she gave birth to their son, Jack, Tom had already moved on with Giselle Bundchen, whom he later married.
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Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha are one of Tinseltown's most low-key couples. The "Scandal" star and the NFL cornerback met in 2009 and tied the knot in 2013 — the same year he retired after a career that saw him play for the Oakland Raiders, the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. They went on to welcome two children together.
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Before she found love with NBA star Dwyane Wade, whom she wed in 2014, Gabrielle Union was married to a different professional athlete: She and NFL running back Chris Howard married in 2001 and divorced in 2006.
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Blinked and you missed it! Eva Longoria briefly dated New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez for two months in 2012. (He later married a different actress: "In the Dark" star Perry Mattfeld.)
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Kelly Rowland almost married former Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams. They got engaged on Valentine's Day in 2004, but by early 2005 — just two months before they were set to wed — they called it quits.
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Taraji P. Henson and Kelvin Hayden started dating in 2015 — a year after the cornerback retired after nine years in the NFL. They got engaged in 2018 but by 2020, it was over.
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Former "The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck married NFL quarterback-turned-ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck in 2002 — a year after she scored her first big break by starring on the second season of "Survivor" when her name was still Elisabeth Filarski. Elisabeth and Tim, who met when they were students at Boston College, share three kids.
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Jana Kramer's marriage to (and eventual split from) Mike Caussin — who was briefly a tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Redskins — can be summed up with one word: messy. The "One Tree Hill" alum and the former athlete — who share two children — started dating in 2014, married in 2015 and called it quits a few times amid Mike's issues with infidelity and sex addiction before ultimately throwing in the towel in 2021.
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Country music singer Jessie James Decker started dating Eric Decker in 2011 when he was a wide receiver for the Denver Broncos. The couple, who once had a reality TV show, "Eric & Jessie: Game On," wed in 2013 and have since welcomed three kids, with No. 4 on the way.
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"The Girls Next Door" star Kendra Wilkinson married NFL wide receiver Hank Baskett in 2009. They welcomed two kids and chronicled their ups and downs on reality TV before splitting in 2018.
